I don’t like to take resolutions too seriously, but I do think the beginning of the year is a great time to set some loose goals of how I want to improve. Here’s some things I’ve been thinking about recently.

Shape vs. Line

Whenever I work on illustrations I think in line first and color/shape fills second. I would like to try more experimenting with starting with shape and adding line as embellishment instead of the other way around.

Spokane-centric Media blog

Spokane is full of great art and really talented folks but often times I feel like we have a hard time finding each other and definitely a hard time connecting. I would like to work on starting a blog that can be a place of inspiration and connection for local artists…mostly of the media variety. Illustration, design, motion-graphics, video, music. To shed light on cool projects, collaborations and even highlight fresh talent emerging from the local colleges.

Get Involved with Students

This is something I’m already in the works with as I’ve recently joined the advisory committee to the Graphic Design Program at SFCC (where I studied design) and am taking on an intern from there as well starting this quarter. I’m really excited to get connected with students and interact with a new demographic of other artists in town. When I studied design I would have loved to meet artists that were taking a unique approach to their career…different than the typical “get a job at an agency after college” approach. I’m excited to introduce you all to my intern in the coming weeks! She is great and I’m looking forward to teaming up with her on some creative projects.

Critique

Again, something I’m consistently trying to force myself to do is to expose myself to critique from other artists. This is THE most challenging thing as a solo freelancer. To take the extra time on an already tight schedule with a project to submit ideas to other designer friends via email and be able to put their advice into use. Without a neighbor working beside me at a desk or another cubicle the process is a lot slower and more difficult than just calling someone over to my screen and asking them what could be improved. Dribbble sometimes can be helpful with this, but it really isn’t the same.

Type Tuesday

Some of most fun times exploring ideas is just making art for this blog…and as I look back at my posts from 2012 I realize that this year I neglected this routine the majority of the time. It does take extra time and effort but I’m always happier when I’m doing type tuesday and other fun posts. Here’s to more of them in 2013!